


Tree Forts and Pinky Promises

by BanannaFlvdSnow



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Cute Kids, Elementary School, Fluff and Sweetness, Forts, M/M, Summer, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, sleep overs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 08:10:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9712790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BanannaFlvdSnow/pseuds/BanannaFlvdSnow
Summary: Takes place after the events of Valentines & Chalk Hearts but you don't have to read that for this to make sense.Rick and Daryl are going to spend the first night of the summer sleeping in a secret tree house. Lot's of cute little Daryl and Rick ensues.





	1. Chapter 1

After Valentine’s Day Rick and Daryl became almost inseparable much to the dismay of Rick’s buddy Shane. Not that the two of them didn’t still hang out but when they did Rick almost always brought Daryl along with him even if Shane had asked him not to. It’s not that he didn’t like Shane anymore it was just that he and Daryl got along so well they just clicked in an unspoken way that he and Shane never did. With Shane it was always a bit of a power struggle whatever Rick suggested they play Shane almost always wanted to do something else most of the time just to be contrary like it was physically painful for him to let the other boy take the lead. But being friends with Daryl was the complete opposite it was just easy and natural like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together. They had taken to spending nearly all of their free time with each other and Daryl trusted Rick in a way he never thought he would trust anyone not even his big brother.

 

Rick had so won him over that Daryl even showed him his secret hiding spot in the woods behind his house, which happened to be a long forgotten tree house. He didn’t know who built it but Daryl had found it one day a few years before as he was wandering around the woods trying to kill time before going home hoping that if he waited long enough his dad would be passed out by the time he got back. It wasn’t grand by any standards and it was hard to spot unless you knew where to look for it heck Daryl had probably passed it dozens of times before he noticed it since it blended so well with the natural foliage. It was a very basic structure pretty much just a wooden box made up of old barn wood with a few cut outs for windows, it sat high up a large tree with a trap door in the floor and smaller planks of wood nailed up the trunk as a ladder many of which had broken off over the years but the main structure was still pretty sound and the roof kept out most of the elements. Daryl had made it his project to fix it up taking some old bits of wood from his dads shed along with some nails and a hammer he replaced all the missing planks for the ladder and reinforced the structure in a few areas just to be sure it would hold. And slowly he moved a few things up into his new fort to make it more comfortable like an old crate for a table, a raggedy sleeping bag and pillow, a camping lantern and a few comics.

 

It had become his safe place so when Daryl showed it to Rick a few months after they became friends it was a BIG deal. He had been pretty nervous at the time afraid of what the other boy would think of the shabby structure but in the end he needn’t have worried because the curly haired boy thought it was beyond cool that he had as Rick put it at the time “a secret lair”. The space was more than large enough to accommodate both boys with plenty of room to spare. After Rick’s first visit to the tree house he had asked if he too could bring a few things over and Daryl had agreed thinking it would just be some simple necessities like he had stocked it with but as it turns out Rick had more elaborate plans. So every time after that Rick brought something new to add to what the boys dubbed after a lengthy and serious discussion Fort Rickyl. 

First he brought an old bean bag chair he had found in the basement, then a small rug his Mom had added to the summer yard sale pile in the garage after that a few Super Hero posters from his bedroom walls, a battery powered radio, Uno, a deck of playing cards, board games and he even brought some old sheets for them to use as curtains. Once Rick sunk his claws into the place it no longer felt like a wooden box in the trees he used to escape his father it felt like a little home and Daryl loved it more than ever even if he did tease Rick about his decorating.

 

It was now late in the afternoon on a breezy June day the first true day of the boy’s summer since the last day of school was yesterday and they have big plans for their first sleepover in Fort Rickyl. Daryl had arrived first since it was so close to his house and he was eager to not be at home, so he spent the better part of the day chewing his nails and peeking out the curtains to see if he could spot Rick. Not that he really needed to look he could always hear Rick clomping his way through the woods from quite a ways off, no matter how much Daryl had tried to show the other boy how to make his way quietly through nature Rick was just naturally heavy footed. Daryl found it kind of cute honestly not that he thought Rick was cute or anything because he didn’t, HE DIDN’T! Finally he heard the telltale crunch and snaps of Rick nearing the Fort, sighing a breath of relief Daryl peeked out the window and smiled when he saw how much stuff Rick had brought with him.

 

“Ya know you’s just staying the night Rick you ain’t supposed to be moving in” he shouted down at the boy once he neared the large tree trunk. Rick was wearing a backpack that looked stuffed full along with a sleeping bag under one arm and carrying a small cooler with the other. He looked up at the fair haired boy a brilliant smile lighting up his face “Yeah I know but I had some stuff and thangs that I just had ta bring with me. So are you gonna get down here and help me or not?”  
“Yeah yeah I’m coming I’m coming” he grumbled back.

 

Daryl opened the trap door and climbed down the ladder to meet Rick on the ground taking the cooler from his hands the thing weighing down his small arms more than he expected “So what’cha got in here? This thing is heavy” he asked. “Just a few things my Mom packed for us, some drinks and snacks a couple of sandwiches and I think I saw her put some brownies in as well”. Daryl popped the top open to take a look his eyes going wide at all the food packed inside.

“Damn all this just for one night?”

“Yeah my Mom was worried about us going hungry” he replied while still beaming at him.

Daryl couldn’t hide his smile as he peered at the other boy through his shag of messy bangs that more than covered his sharp blue eyes. “Guess I know where ya get the pack-rat gene from”.

Rick good naturedly bumped Daryl’s shoulder with his own while passing him to reach the ladder “Hey I’m not a pack-rat. I only brought a few thangs with me”. He awkwardly tucked the sleeping bag under his chin as best as he could so he had both of his hands free for climbing, Daryl following closely behind shifting the handle of the cooler to the crook of his bent elbow so he could climb up after him.

“Yeah ya mean your entire room” he ribbed.

“Harty har har Daryl. I could’a brought lot’s more and ya know it”.

Rich reached the top and tossed his sleeping bag in with one hand before climbing through the hatch and reaching back down to grab the cooler from Daryl who was right behind him. Once they were both through Daryl closed the trap door back up and flopped onto the bean bag chair in the corner while Rick puttered around and began to unpack. He unrolled his sleeping bag and placed it near Daryl’s not so close that the bags touched but they were within arm’s reach. He sat cross legged on his sleeping bag and began digging into his overstuffed backpack while Daryl sat silently in the corner watching the curly haired boy wondering what all he had crammed in there. To his surprise Rick pulled out a stuffed teddy bear with black fur that was matted down from years of snuggling and a brown old timey looking aviator cap with goggles on its head. 

 

Daryl couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face and the chuckle that escaped him because out of all the things he thought Rick might have in his bag a teddy bear was not one of them. Rick looked up quickly after hearing Daryl with a wounded look on his face his bottom lip sticking out in a slight pout. Daryl quickly schooled his face because he honestly didn’t mean to upset his friend. “You got a problem with my bear?” Rick asked snippily.

“Nah man. M’ sorry I laughed, I jus’ wasn’t specting it s’all”. Rick decided that Daryl sounded sincere so he relaxed a little as he hugged the well-loved bear to his chest. He kept his eyes downcast as he talked about her “This is Amelia Bearhart. I’ve had her since I was a baby. Never really slept without her, I know it’s silly I just couldn’t leave her at home though”.

“It’s alright Rick honest I’m not gunna poke fun at cha’ for it. I pinky promise” Daryl crawled off the bean bag chair and made his way over to the beds sitting down in front of Rick. “Really you’re not?” Rick finally looked up piercing Daryl with his big blue eyes.

Daryl reached out and petted the top of Amelia’s head quirking a smile in the process “Course not we’re buddies right?”  
“Of course” Rick smiled back at the other boy and with that they both held out their pinkies and shook on it. “I always thought that Shane would. Whenever I spent the night at his house I kept her in my backpack and just used it as a pillow”.  
“Well I ain’t Shane that’s fer sure”. They both had a chuckle at that. “So what else ya got in that bag?”

Rick couldn’t help the mischievous look that spread across his face “Oh just a couple a thangs”. He then proceeded to pull all the contents out which consisted of a pair of Pajamas, a spare set of socks, fuzzy slippers that looked like bear paws, a flashlight, extra batteries, a bag of candy, canteen, a roll of toilet paper, Battleship, a stack of comic books, a first aid kit, comb, box of thumbtacks and a long strand of battery powered multi-colored Christmas lights that were neatly wrapped around a cardboard tube.

Daryl looked at the pile of stuff slightly flabbergasted that everything had fit into one backpack “Holy crap Mary Poppins you got anything else in that bag a yours?” a full on smile cracking his face “And you said you wasn’t a pack rat”.

“And I stand by that I’m not a pack rat we need all this stuff” he said beaming at the fair haired boy.

“Oh yeah what do we need a first aid kit for?” he countered.

“Accidents”

“What ‘bout the Christmas lights?”

“Ambiance”

“Ok then what ‘bout the bear slippers?” he chuckled.

Rick stuck out his bottom lip in a mock pout making eye contact with Daryl “Mah feet get cold at night”.

Even though Daryl thought some of the stuff was kind of silly he really couldn’t deny Rick when he would shine those big blue eyes at him and stick out his plump pink lips. Daryl cleared his throat and looked away when he realized he had been staring at said boy’s lips. “So I guess we should find a place for most of this stuff huh?”

By the time they had everything properly placed and the lights strung around the walls of the Fort it was already starting to get dark out and despite Daryl’s initial reservations he would admit that they gave the place a comfy glow.


	2. Chapter 2

“You sank my Battleship!” Rick yelled out.

Daryl smiled at him with a shit eating grin “Yeah I sure did. Now where’s ma prize?”

Rick begrudgingly handed Daryl the last brownie which the other boy downed in three bites and they were not small squares.

After getting things set up to their liking they settled down to play some games and eat, quickly making a large dent in the food Rick had brought. It was quality stuff to Daryl noted good bread and cold cuts not like the off brand Bologna you would find in the Dixon household. He ate till he felt like he was about to burst and then ate his victory brownie on top of that.

Rick started packing up the game with a pout on his face “What should we do now because I’m SO done with board games”.

“Yeah that’s cause ya keep losing” Daryl was still smirking over his triumph. “Don’t be a sore loser Grimes”.

The curly haired boy crossed his arms over his chest and stuck his chin out “I aint a sore loser I’m just done with them for now. We’ve been playing those thangs for hours.” 

Daryl watched him start to chew his lip and crinkle his forehead the other boy did it often enough that it was a clear sign Rick was deep in thought. Daryl found it rather adorable not that he would ever say so. After a minute or so he could see the change happen his forehead smoothed out and his entire face lit up.

“I got it! How about we play would you rather?”

“Ain’t ever heard of that game before”

“Oh it’s really fun. You name two things and then you have to choose one but they have to be hard to pick from. Dang I’m not explaining this well ok like would you rather always smell like poop or always have the taste of poop in your mouth?”

“Ah eeewwww, neither”

“No you gotta pick one that’s the point.”

“Aw man they both suck. Hmmmm I would have to go with smelling like poop. Tasting it all the time would have to be worse right?”

They both couldn’t help but laugh thinking about it.

“Ok then my turn. Would ya rather fart every day in class or wet your pants in front of the whole school?”

“Hmmm. Fart every day in class then at least I could sometimes blame someone else for it”

“Like Shane!"

“Heck yeah!”

“Ok ok I got a really good one. Would you rather fight a Vampire or a Zombie?”

“That’s easy man A Zombie hands down. Jus shoot it in da head using mah crossbow”

“Pfft, I thought ya said you couldn’t load the thing yourself?”

“Well yeah not yet but I jus need a little more time to work on mah muscles then I’ll be loading it by mah self in no time”

Rick smiled mockingly at the other boy “Yeah you keep working on your muscles Rambo”

“Whatever man I’m gunna be way stronger than you when we grow up” Daryl had found that the curly haired boy was surprisingly stubborn so on occasion he liked to push him a little on things just to watch him dig his feet in and get all flustered.

“Oh yeah? You wanna bet?” 

“Hell yeah I will Grimes. What are yer terms?”

“How about when we are both 21 we have a strength contest and whoever loses buys the other a big steak dinner and some beers?”

“You’re on. Let’s pinky promise on it, deal?” Daryl stuck his hand out with his pinky extended. Rick stuck his pinky out as well and both boys shook on it.

“You got a deal Dixon”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was well after midnight by the time they both felt tired enough to call it a night curling up in their sleeping bags. Rick turned to face Daryl’s direction playfulness lighting up his features “Hey Dare you want a goodnight kiss?”

Daryl instantly began to blush crimson which he hoped Rick couldn’t see in the dim glow of the Christmas lights “Wha… What?”   
He had to ask because no way he heard that one right, like absolutely no way right?

Rick wore a huge Cheshire grin as he held his hand out palm up to Daryl with several Hershey Kiss chocolates resting on it. When Daryl saw what Rick had in his hand he broke out into a fit of giggles with Rick quickly joining in. Needless to say the first sleepover at Fort Rickyl was a huge success with many more to come.

**Author's Note:**

> I started this months ago but it took me FOREVER to get it finished. But Yay finally done! Now it serves as my Valentine gift to all my fellow Rickyl fanatics out there. I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
